Discussion

Looking for great scone & almond crossiant

Last month, when I was up in San Francisco, I had the best scone and a perfectly done almond crossiant from Tartine. And now, I've been trying to find a place that can fulfill my craving for either (or both) of these items in San Diego. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

So, I may be wrong but on the weekdays, I think it really depends on what types of scones she's making fresh that day. About a year ago when I had a friend working there, I camped out there for a few days working on a paper and the fresh scones weren't coming out until 8 or 9 am. If she was making fruit scones, they'd be gone by the afternoon. Almond scones would stay around for longer and they would still be available in the evening. When word got around that there were fresh blueberry scones, people would buy extra to take home and call to tell their friends. Nothing beats a hot out-of-the-oven fresh blueberry scone from Rebecca's!

Lately Rebecca's is the place where we go from time to time on Friday and Saturday nights to relax after the long workweek and we never had any problems to get all the scones we want on weekends after 9-10pm. Unfortunately the barristas changed a few times in the last few months and some of them are pretty bad. So don't expect a great cap. or latte but the scones are as good as ever.

Rebecca's is great and she knows it. I ordered a dozen scones a few days in advance to pick up in the morning on a Sunday. I go there and she said she did not have time to make them and asked if i could come back later in the morning. i said OK and came back at 11:30 to get the scones and she said she still did not have time. she game me her business card with 6 free scones and i still have not redemeed them. But they are soooooo good...but I was sooooo upset.

Bread & Cie has an item called a gallette which is akin to an almond croissant. It's buttery, flaky, and filled with a very nice almond paste. It's round, instead of crescent shaped. I suggest giving it a try.

My favorite scones are at Con Pane in Point Loma (on Rosecrans just before Canon). Can't really help you on the Almond Croissant thing, though ... I've never had one in San Diego that comes close to what I get abroad.

I second Con Pane in Point Loma - the Pear & Almond is too die for as is the Gingersnap Espresso but its only available in the fall. I also like the scones at Twiggs in University Heights. I'm possitive I'll be in the minority, but I don't really get the Rebeccas thing. The two I've had were good but nothing to stand in line for. On the other hand, they serve this amazing strawberry preserves with the scones and I had an amazing apple spice muffin there. The Croissants at St. Tropete were pretty good and I would guess they also do an almond version but haven't seen one.

Really, the ones that I had were very moist. I wonder if it was a rotation thing or just a bad day. On the other hand, it's been at least three years since I've had one of thier scones. Also, I have sometimes found moist and fluffy to be mutually exclusive in scones. Most coffee house scones apparently come from the same bakery as they all look the same. They're airly and fluffy but not moist. This is what I found in Rebeccas. Extraordinary Dessert's scones on the other hand are neither moist nor fluffy they're more like but shortbread cookies shaped like scones - not that that's necessarily bad, but at nearly $4 a bit pricey. I guess that's why I like Con Pane's scones. They're a bit crispy on the outside and moist on the inside but I wouldn't call them fluffy - not dense mind you - but not fluffy either.

I was just at Extraordinary Dessert yesterday after and I had contemplated on their Apple & Brie scone, but it is very expensive there. I don't mind spending the money on GOOD food. It's when I'm spending money on mediocre or worse, terrible items. Maybe I'll try it during their rush hour special instead. At least I'll get a cup of coffee with it.

If you are downtown, try the deli at the Westgate (entrance across from the Grant) Their croissants are the real deal, baked dark like Tartine's. They also have very good French pastries at Bread and Cie in Hillcrest, but they are larger and not baked so dark.

You also might want to try Opera Patisserie downtown or Influx in Golden Hill.

I also like Rebecca's scones, but I got tired of going there and being told it would be a thirty minute wait. They have them other times of day, but they are hard to come by in the prime morning hours. Bread and Cie also makes good ones, especially the chocolate orange!

They have a few sandwiches that are pretty good - I really like the warm chipotle pork one (I get half and half with a green salad). They also have good chocolate chip cookies and sometimes they have fresh fruit tarts in the case. They usually don't have very many croissants, at least by the time I get there - so hopefully you can get ahold of one. I may drop in tomorrow morning for one, I usually allow myself one every two or three weeks!

While we're on the topic, I had THE best bread pudding and croque Monsieur at Tartine and have been wondering if any place in SD has bread pudding that is comparable. I'm skeptical, but maybe you guys might have had better (oh, and please not Heaven Sent or Extraordinary desserts b/c my bread pudding experiences there have been "eh").

I just googled. Is it the Palace Grill? And are you talking about the Louisiana Bread Pudding Souffle? The whiskey sauce in the description reminds me of the sickeningly-sweet Mimi's version that also has whiskey sauce. But maybe I'll have to plan a vacation and check it out... thanks!

FYI - the bread pudding recipe is in the Tartine cookbook - it's too long to write out here, but it looks pretty simple - five ingredients, that's it. I also think I just saw some bread pudding somewhere, but now I can't remember where. If I do, I will come back. The best bread pudding I ever had was made with Pain au Chocolat - but if that isn't overkill, I don't know what is!